Apparatus for dispensing material on pastry and the like

ABSTRACT

The apparatus includes an open entry disposable hose and forcing bag which are formed integrally with each other. At the end extreme from the feeding means, the bag includes a bulbous member. Several embodiments of the integral hose and bag are shown and described. When required, a venting hose is provided for release of trapped air in the material and communicates with an expansion chamber. In certain circumstances, a tube surrounds the bag and is selectively inflatable or deflatable for controlling dispensing of the material in predetermined amounts while still using, for example, a continually fed supply of material to the forcing bag.

Umted States Patent 1 1 3,682,107 MacManus [451 Aug. 8, '1972 [54]APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING 3,204,825 7/ 1965 Underwood ..222/ 105 MATERIAL0N PASTRY AND THE 3,230,926 1/1966 MacManus 107/14 B X LIKE 3,285,20211/1966 MacManus ..107/52 X 72 Inventor: John MacManus, 143 -16 22ndigfg'lgg {3 ,3 /352 Road, Whitestone, N.Y. 11357 [22] Filed: 29 1969FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 598,674 12/1925 France ..107/52 [21]8557 1,149,931 1/1958 France ..107/52 [30] Foreign Application PriorityData Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-Henry E.Raduazo Dec. 31, 1968 Great Britain ..6l,985/68 Att0mey McCanna,Mombach, note & Muir [52] US. Cl. ..107/27 107/52, 107/14 T1 51 Int. Cl..A2lc 9/06, A23g 1/20 [57] ABS CT [5.8] Field of Search ..107/27, 27 A,52; 222/214, The apparatus Includes an p entry dlsposable hose 222 05 95and forcing bag which are formed integrally with each other. At the endextreme from the feeding means, the 5 References Cited bag includes abulbous member. Several embodiments of the integral hose and bag areshown and described. UNlT ED STATES PATENTS When required, a ventinghose is provided for release of trapped air in the material andcommunicates with an expansion chamber. in certain circumstances, a tubesurrounds the bag and is selectively inflatable or geaton deflatableforcontrolling dispensing of the material in 2 713 369 7/l955 lquerelpredeternglirliecfl grnounlts vghile stilgflusinfi, ior exangple,2,815,887 12/1957 Ford et a1. ..222/105 a y e supp y mate" tot e2,967,700 l/ 1961 Lee et a1. ..222/255 X 5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Thepresent invention relates generally to dispensing and more particularlyto an improved apparatus for dispensing a continually flowing, materialto a succession of units of pastry, cakes, confections, and the like.

One method of depositing a stiff fluent aerated food product, such aswhipped cream, on or into a succession of units of pastry, cakes,confectionery, or the like to decorate them or fill them is described inmy U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,202. This method includes pumping a continuingflow, that is a continuous or continual flow, of the product through aflexible hose to a collapsible forcing bag having an open discharge tip.The tip is moved over a unit to deposit the product on or into it in aprescribed pattern by alternately compressing the bag, so that productis extruded from the tip, and then at least partially releasing thecompression on the bag to interrupt the flow of product from the tipwithout interrupting the supply of products to the bag while moving thetip to the next unit, and so on.

The hose and bag previously used for the above described method wereseparate parts which were sealed together either by gathering the bagand clamping it around the end of the hose using a strap, or by drawingup and clamping both the end of the hose and the neck of the bag arounda common coupling piece. It can be seen that this results in aconsiderable number of folds in the bag where it is gathered and thesefolds can trap a quantity of the material to be discharged. It isessential that such apparatus be thoroughly cleaned at frequentintervals and this involves dismantling the assembly. The clamping andremoval of the bag from the hose takes an appreciable time, and costlylabor is involved in these actions.

In accordance with the present invention a disposable hose and forcingbag for use in the method described are formed integrally with oneanother and the bag consists of a bulbous portion at the end of the hosehaving an unobstructed discharge outlet. The interior of the bag issmooth and generally free of folds or wrinkles.

With this arrangement no dismantling of the hose and bag is necessaryfor cleaning purposes and all that is required for temporary cleaning isto cause a sterilizing fluid to flow through the hose and bag. The hoseand bag can be disposed of at the end of each working day. This ispossible because of the comparative low cost of the integral unit and bysaving in the high cost of cleaning and washing labor.

Although the discharge outlet may be permanently fitted with adecorating shaped nozzle, such as the conventional star nozzle, meansare preferably provided at the outlet for fitting a variety of differentnozzles to the outlet. One such means comprises providing the nozzle.

as part of a tubular body which fits within the discharge outlet andwhich is held in position by a collar which screws onto the outside ofthe body trapping the bag material between the collar and the body.Another means comprises forming the nozzle as part of a tubular bodywhich fits and which is held in position by a resilient band or adhesivetape such as cellophane tape. The band or tape surrounds and clamps thebag material against the outside of the body. Yet again the nozzle mayform part of a tubular body which is held frictionally within thedischarge outlet, the wall of the outlet being capable of being rolledinto an annular ring to provide an entrance to receive the body andsubsequently unrolled around the body.

The hose may have a length of, for example, between 1 and 4 feet and thehose (or each duct within the hose if the hose is divided bylongitudinal internal webs into separate ducts) may have an internaldiameter of between A and 1% inches, and preferably below onehalf inch.The wall thickness of the hose is comparatively unimportant consistentwith the desired flexibility. The bag wall thickness is more importantand is preferably as thin as possible consistent with sufficientstrength to withstand the excess pressure of the product. A typicalrange of bag wall thickness is between 4 and 16 thousandths of an inch,depending upon the combination of the viscosity of the aerated productand its related high pressure.

The hose and bag may be integrally formed by any suitable method. Forexample they may be formed as a single dip moulding on an appropriatelyshaped former from which the moulding is stripped. Another methodconsists of extruding a parison most of which will form the hose andsubsequently blow moulding the end of the parison into a bulbous portionto provide the bag. Alternatively the hose and bag unit may be formed bytwo overlapping layers of thermoplastic sheet material which are sealedtogether along two longitudinally ex-. tending, diametrically-opposedseams formed by heat welding. When this method is used at least the bagportion may be formed by four overlapping layers of sheet material, thetwo inner sheets being heat welded together to form an inner bag and thetwo outer sheets being heat welded together to form an outer bag wherebyan insulating space is provided between the two bags. The fouroverlapping layers of sheet material may consist of two tubes laid flatone over the other and a single heat welding operation forming twoopposed edge seams through all four layers can then be made. This willresult in the production of the inner product bag, and an outerinsulating bag divided into two halves. In either case, the outer bagmay then be minutely perforrnated to contribute to an air flow throughthe insulating space. This is particularly useful if the bag is to bemanipulated by hand, the insulating space insulating the product fromthe heat of the operators hand.

For the handling of particularly delicate product, the operator may findit desirable to wear special gloves to deter the heating of the coldproduct passing through the bag from the heat of the operators handsmanipulating the bag. Suitable gloves may be made of plastics materialfor example by a dip moulding operation, with the tips of the fingerscut off so that the sensitive manipulation of the bag by the operator'sfinger tips is not impeded.

The hose and bag will usually be made from a translucent, preferablytransparent, synthetic plastics material, such as PVC of a bloodcarrying quality. In any case it must be non-toxic and compatible withfood hygiene.

In order to prevent the hose, if very thin walled, from kinking in useand thereby interfering with the steady flow of aerated product, thehose may require to be reinforced by a helix of flexible wire which maybe either inside, loosely surrounded, or embedded in the wall of thehose.

However homogenous the high overrun aerated product when pumped into thehose, there is inevitably a slight separation of the air resulting fromthe high compression of, and within, the product as the product passesthrough the hose en route to the bag, particularly when the flow isinterrupted for even short periods. This results in voids of airoccurring at irregular zones throughout the hose. This trapped air whichis under high pressure at this point will cause spluttering of theproduct from the discharge tip of the bag when the air void reaches thetip resulting in unsaleable cripp es.

To meet this problem the wall of the hose or of the bag may be providedwith a minute hole or holes for the venting of any air voids from theproduct passing through the hose and bag. Preferably the venting hole orholes lead outwards into an expansion chamber open to the atmosphere.This is important in that any product escaping with the air through theventing hole or holes is instantly expanded to atmospheric pressure sothat it does not clog the holes while at the same time being containedwithin the product collecting chamber so as not to lead to messiness andpoor sanitation in the working area. A suitable form of collectingexpansion chamber is formed by a flexible tubular sausage-like skin oneend of which is open to atmosphere and the other end of which is sealedto the wall of the hose or bag around the venting hole or holes bymeans, for example, of a washer which is bonded to the wall of the hoseor bag and traps a flange at the end of the chamber against the wall ofthe hose or bag.

It has previously been considered necessary that the forcing bag for usein the method described be compressed manually to control the extrusionof the product from the bag outlet. However, I have discovered that thecompression of the bag may be varied automatically, if the bag isprovided with an internal or external inflatable-deflatable part, theexpansion of which intermittently reduces the capacity of the productbag, in combination with means for selectively supplying fluidintermittently under pressure to the part. The fluid, such as air underpressure may be supplied to or removed from the inflatable part, such asa ring surrounding the bag or an inner bag within the product bag,through a pipe extending alongside the flexible hose, or down within thehose or through the wall of the product bag, respectively. The supply ofair under pressure to the inflatable part, and its venting, to causecompression and allow expansion of the bag, may be controlled by aremote valve, or by a valve adjacent to the bag for manipulation by thehands of the operator holding the bag. When the control is remote, it ispossible for the whole depositing operation to be programmed and for thebag to be supported and manipulated by mechanical means.

In one shape of the bag which is particularly advantageous for holdingand manipulating, the hose merges into a divergent portion of the bag.From there the bag tapers to the discharge outlet with the maximum widthof the bag occurring nearer to its junction with the hose than to thedischarge outlet.

In another advantageous shape, the bag is substantially tubular with adiameter little greater than that of the hose. This is useful inensuring a first in, first out flow of the product through the bag sothat the discharged product has a uniform quality.

The integral hose and bag may be used with an apparatus as described inmy aforementioned patent, in which the aerated product is first whippedin one machine and deposited into a hopper of a second machine fromwhich it is pumped by a reciprocating or other pump through a connectionto the hose and hence to the bag. The integral hose and bag may also beused with a machine such as that described in my copending patentapplication, Ser. No. 883,867, filed Dec. 10, 1969, now US. Pat. No.3,606,626 wherein the liquid product and air are simultaneously drawn inby a pump and discharged through an improved static homogenizer to anoutlet. The integral hose and bag are profitably used in conjunctionwith a machine of this kind, which necessitates investment in, and useof, only one machine instead of two, the upstream end of the hose beingarranged by specially designed means to be coupled to the outlet of themachine.

Some examples of bags and hoses constructed in accordance with thepresent invention, and their use, are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of one example of hose and FIG. 2 is a sideelevation to a larger scale with parts in section of a coupling at theupstream end of the hose of the FIG. 1 example;

FIG. 3 is a section showing a decorating nozzle at the tip of the bag ofthe FIG. 1 example;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of part of a second example;

FIG. 5 is an elevation with parts in section of a third example;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line VI-VI in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 isan elevation with parts in section of a fourth example;

FIG. 8 is a view, part in section and part in elevation, of a fifthexample; and

FIG. 9 is a plan view of an improved bag in collapsed form,

The example illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 incorporates a flexible hose 8formed integrally with a thin walled bag 9 by, for example, extruding aparison including the hose and blow moulding the bag. The bag 9 has ashorter divergent portion 10 and a longer tapering portion 11 whichterminates in a straight outlet throat 12.

The upstream end of the hose 8 is shown coupled to a rigid duct 13 alongwhich in use a continuous or continual flow of aerated food product willbe pumped into the hose and bag. As shown in FIG. 2 the duct 13 isextemally screw-threaded and terminates in a chamfered portion 14 overwhich the end 15 of the hose is stretched. The end of the hose 15 istrapped in position against the chamfered portion 14 by a complementarychamfered portion of a coupling nut 16 which screws onto the duct 13.This is an extremely hygienic construction since for cleaning purposeswhen the coupling nut 16 is removed there are no internal screw threadson the duct 13, which may be part of a whipping machine, to clean.

Obviously an adapter could be fitted to the duct 13 with two or moreoutlets whereby two or more hose and bag units may be fitted to a commonduct 13.

In the event of the wall thickness of the hose 8 and the characteristicsof the material from which it is formed being such that the hose islikely to kink and impede the flow of product through the hose owing totwisting of the hose in use, the hose may be loosely surrounded by meansof a wire helix 17. The resilience of the helix 17 will maintain aminimum radius of curvature when the hose flexes.

A shaped decorating nozzle 18 of star formation is fitted to the throat12 without the need for the hose to be removed from the duct 13. This ispossible by the provision of a tubular body 19 made of a light weightplastics material having an inwardly extending annular flange 20 at itslower end through which the nozzle 18 can be pushed downwards andlocated by means of an outwardly extending flange 21 which rests on theflange 20. The body 19 is substantially cylindrical and can be pushedupwards into the throat l2 and then located in position by means of aplastic nut 22 which screws onto an externally screw-threaded portion ofthe body 19 to clamp the lower end of the throat 12 between itself andthe body. There is a clearance between the screw threads on the nut 22and the body 19, and the crests of the threads are rounded, toaccommodate the material of the throat 12 without tearing it. A tightfit is ensured because of a slight inward taper at the bottom of thebody 19 and on the bottom of the nut 22. The nozzle 18 can be removedreadily for cleaning or replacement by a differently shaped nozzle, bysimply unscrewing the nut 22, removing the body 19, replacing the nozzle18, refitting the body 19, and screwing up the nut 22 again.

The extrusion of whipped cream or other aerated food product from thebag may be controlled by manual compression of the bag to collapse thebag partially, followed by a partial release to enable the bag to fillup again, as described in my aforementioned patent. Alternatively thebag may be compressed and held partially collapsed by inflating anannular flexible tube 23 which surrounds the upper part of the bag 9inside a rigid annular ring 24. This may be achieved by supplyingcompressed air to the tube 23 through a line 25. Inflation of the tube23 partially collapses the bag as shown in FIG. 4 and enables theproduct to be extruded through the nozzle 18. The extrusion of theproduct from the noule can then be interrupted temporarily withoutinterrupting the flow of product through the hose into the bag, byventing the tube 23 so that the tube can collapse as the bag expands toreceive the product. The cycle is then repeated.

FIG. 4 also shows the bag 9 fitted with an expansion chamber in the formof a tubular sausage skin-like chamber 26. One end of the chamber 26 isflanged and is sealed around a puncture in the upper wall of the bag 9by means of a surrounding adhesive washer 27. The upper end 28 of thechamber is open to the atmosphere and the chamber is located alongsidethe hose 8 by means of a loose strap 29. The purpose of the chamber isto enable any air voids which have separated from the product passingdown the hose 8, to be automatically vented through the chamber 26 asthey reach the bag. Any worms of product extruded through the hole intothe chamber 26 are contained within the chamber and they cansubsequently be removed by compressing the lower end of the chamber 26between two fingers and drawing the fingers along the chamber to extrudethe worms of product from the end 28.

In the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hose 8A and bag 9A areformed by two overlapping layers of thermoplastic sheet material whichare heat welded together along two seam lines 30. The bag 9A is shownsurrounded by an outer bag 31 formed by two further plies of the sheetmaterial secured together by two heat welded seams 32. The outer bagwhich is provided with a number of air venting holes 33 provides aninsulating air space 34 between the two bags to insulate the product inthe bag 9A from the heat of an operators hand. This bag is shown ashaving a straight outlet throat at its outlet end which terminates in aslight flare formed by two lateral ears of the laid flat overlappingsheet material from which the bag is made. A nozzle formed by a tubularbody 18B is inserted up into the throat and the two ears are wrapped andsealed around the body 18B so that the body is closely embraced by thebag material. The body 18B is held in position and the seal maintainedby a resilient band 35, which may be made of rubber or plasticsmaterial. The band may be fitted in position by a tool having, say fourradially expanding fingers. The band is placed over the fingers whichare then expanded to stretch the band. The fingers and stretched bandare then offered over the body and the fingers withdrawn to release theband. A1- ternately, the body 18B may be held in position by an adhesivetape, such as cellophane tape, placed around the bag to hold the twoears in position.

The FIG. 7 example of hose 8B and tubular bag 98 are formed as a dipmoulding on an appropriately shaped former. In this example the nozzle18B is shown frictionally retained within the tip of the bag 93 havingbeen secured by rolling the tip 36 of the bag back to form an annularring and then unrolling the ring again over the outside of the nozzle18B. The hose 8B may be supported by a spring helix similar to the helix17 if necessary.

Referring again to FIG. 4, it will be recalled that the bag 9 may becompressed and held partially collapsed by inflating the annularflexible tube 23. Alternatively, the tube 23 may be disposed inside thebag 9 and, upon inflation, operate to reduce the space inside the bag.Again, the inflatable inner member may be like a balloon disposed insidethe bag 9. In one embodiment, a coupling piece is provided at thejunction of the hose and bag. The line or conduit 25 advantageouslypasses through a passageway in the coupling piece to supply I compressedair to intermittently inflate and/or deflate the inner member.

FIG. 8 shows another means for mechanically compressing the bag. Herethe hose 8C and bag 9C are formed by any of the above describedprocedures. A collar 42 is heat welded to the tube 8C or otherwise 5secured to the bag or tube in airtight relation. An outer imperforatebag 44 surrounds at least a portion of bag 9C and is sealed thereto atits lower end in any convenient manner. This provides an imperforate airspace 46 between the two bags. Collar 42 is provided with a passageway47, to which is coupled a line 25C. Delivery of air under pressure tospace 46 partially collapses the bag 9C and extrudes the product. Theextrusion of the product can then be interrupted temporarily withoutinterrupting the flow of product through the hose 8C into the bag 9C, byventing the hose 25C so that the bag 9C can expand to receive additionalproduct. The cycle is then repeated.

FIG. 9 illustrates an improved form of pastry bag or forcing bag,generally designated 50. The bag is advantageously much smaller than itspredecessors, having a collapsed or lay-flat size of 8 inches in lengthand 3 inches in width at the widest point. Especially as related towhipped emulsions, this bag aids in a first in first out control of theproduct and improves the quality of the product dispensed. The smallsize is further advantageous in providing improved control (one-handedinstead of the usual two-handed method) by a decorator when using thebag thus releasing the other hand for movement of cakes ready to bedecorated in sequence. This would usually require an additional person.In the embodiment illustrated, the bag 50 is formed by two overlappinglayers of thermoplastic sheet material which are heat welded along twoopposite seam lines 52, 54.

Bag 50 is provided with a straight outlet throat 56 at its outlet endwhich terminates in a slight flare formed by two lateral ears 57, 58. Aspreviously described, a conical nozzle may be inserted into the throat,the ears folded back to form a conical retention surface, and theassembly held in position by a fastener such as a resilient band,- or anadhesive strip. In the embodiment illustrated, when flat the outletthroat 56 is about 1 If; inches between the seam lines 52, 54 for easyinsertion of a nozzle having about three-fourth inch diameter at itslarge end. The throat 56 is about 2 inches long.

Bag 50 is also provided with a straight inlet throat 66 about l k incheslong and, when flat, about threeeighth inch between the seam lines 52,54. When rounded, the inlet throat allows a one-half inch O.D.(one-fourth inch I.D.) tube to be inserted. Throat 66 also terminates ina slight flare formed by two lateral ears 67, 68. The tube can beconnected by folding the ears and applying any clamp or fastener, i.e.as previously described.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has herein beenillustrated and described, this has been done by way of illustration andnot limitation, and the invention should not be limited except asrequired by the scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A disposable apparatus for dispensing whipped cream to a successionof units of pastry, cakes, confections, and the like and for use withfeed means for providing a continuing flow of the whipped cream, theapparatus including: a disposable bulbous forcing bag of relatively thinhygienic synthetic plastic material and having an inlet at one end andan unobstructed discharge opening opposite the inlet; the bulbousforcing bag having a smooth interior surface generally free of folds andwrinkles; the forcing bag having a wall thickness between about 0.004inch and 0.016 inch; a disposable flexible hose of hygienic syntheticplastic material formed integrally with the bulbous forcing bag andhaving an internal diameter between one-fourth inch and one-half inchand considerably smaller than the bulbous forcing bag; the flexible hosehaving one end integrally connected to the bulbous forcing bag at thebag inlet to communicate with the bag inlet; the flexible hose mergingsmoothly into the bulbous forcing bag at said connection so that theinterior surface is smooth; the flexible hose having a second endconnectable to the feed means whereby a continuing flow of whipped creamis fed along the flexible hose to the bulbous forcing bag; the bulbousforcing bag being so constructed and arranged that it is flexible andcompressible; an inflatable member mounted on the forcing bag and soarranged that expansion of the inflatable member reduces the capacity ofthe forcing bag; and means for selectively supplying fluid underpressure to the inflatable member to partially collapse and temporarilyreduce the forcing bags capacity to dispense the whipped cream and uponrelease of the fluid pressure, to interrupt the flow of whipped creamthrough the discharge opening without interrupting the feeding ofmaterial to the forcing bag.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the forcing bag is formedfrom two overlapping layers of thermoplastic material which are heatsealed together along two longitudinally-extending, diametricallyopposed seams; the forcing bag having a divergent car at the seam at thedischarge opening; a decorating shaped nozzle fitted at the dischargeopening; the ear being folded over to form a reduced retention surfacefor the nozzle; and fastening means outwardly of the forcing bag forholding the ear in folded position and retaining the nozzle at thedischarge opening.

3. In an apparatus for dispensing whipped cream to a succession of unitsof pastry, cakes, confections, and the like and including a flexibleforcing bag having an unobstructed discharge opening, and means forproviding a continuing flow of the shipped cream to the forcing bag, theimprovement comprising: an inflatable annular flexible tube circumjacentthe forcing bag and disposed outwardly thereof and so arranged thatexpan sion of the member reduces the capacity of the forcing bag, meansfor selectively supplying fluid under pressure to the tube toautomatically vary discharge of the whipped cream from the dischargeopening, and a rigid annular ring outwardly of the annular tube butadjacent thereto for supporting the tube when inflated.

4. A disposable hose and forcing bag for dispensing an aerated foodproduct, such as whipped cream, to a succession of units of pastry,cakes, confections, and the like, and for use with feed means forproviding a flow of the material along the hose to the forcing bag;characterized in that the hose and forcing bag are formed integrallywith one another of hygienic plastic material; the hose having a wallthickness which allows the hose to be flexible; the hose having anoutlet end merging smoothly into the bag so that the interior surface issmooth; the forcing bag being formed from two overlapping sheets ofhygienic thermoplastic material which are heat sealed together along twolongitudinally-extending, diametrically opposed seams; the forcing baghaving a bulbous shape with a smooth interior substantially free offolds and wrinkles; the foreing bag having a reduced inlet where thehose is integrally connected and a reduced outlet opposite the inlet;the forcing bag having a wall thickness which allows the bag-to becompressed and partially collapsed to temporarily reduce its capacityand dispense through the outlet; the forcing bag having two oppositelyfacing, outwardly-extending, divergent cars at the outlet, one at eachseam; a nozzle fitted inside the forcing bag at the outlet; the earsbeing folded over around the out-

1. A disposable apparatus for dispensing whipped cream to a successionof units of pastry, cakes, confections, and the like and for use withfeed means for providing a continuing flow of the whipped cream, theapparatus including: a disposable bulbous forcing bag of relatively thinhygienic synthetic plastic material and having an inlet at one end andan unobstructed discharge opening opposite the inlet; the bulbousforcing bag having a smooth interior surface generally free of folds andwrinkles; the forcing bag having a wall thickness between about 0.004inch and 0.016 inch; a disposable flexible hose of hygienic syntheticplastic material formed integrally with the bulbous forcing bag andhaving an internal diameter between one-fourth inch and one-half inchand considerably smaller than the bulbous forcing bag; the flexible hosehaving one end integrally connected to the bulbous forcing bag at thebag inlet to communicate with the bag inlet; the flexible hose mergingsmoothly into the bulbous forcing bag at said connection so that theinterior surface is smooth; the flexible hose having a second endconnectable to the feed means whereby a continuing flow of whipped creamis fed along the flexible hose to the bulbous forcing bag; the bulbousforcing bag being so constructed and arranged that it is flexible andcompressible; an inflatable member mounted on the forcing bag and soarranged that expansion of the inflatable member reduces the capacity ofthe forcing bag; and means for selectively supplying fluid underpressure to the inflatable member to partially collapse and temporarilyreduce the forcing bag''s capacity to dispense the whipped cream andupon release of the fluid pressure, to interrupt the flow of whippedcream through the discharge opening without interrupting the feeding ofmaterial to the forcing bag.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 inwhich the forcing bag is formed from two overlapping layers ofthermoplastic material which are heat sealed together along twolongitudinally-extending, diametrically opposed seams; the forcing baghaving a divergent ear at the seam at the discharge opening; adecorating shaped nozzle fitted at the discharge opening; the ear beingfolded over to form a reduced retention surface for the nozzle; andfastening means outwardly of the forcing bag for holding the ear infolded position and retaining the nozzle at the discharge opening.
 3. Inan apparatus for dispensing whipped cream to a succession of units ofpastry, cakes, confections, and the like and including a flexibleforcing bag having an unobstructed discharge opening, and means forproviding a continuing flow of the shipped cream to the forcing bag, theimprovement comprising: an inflatable annular flexible tube circumjacentthe forcing bag and disposed outwardly thereof and so arranged thatexpansion of the member reduces the capacity of the forcing bag, meansfor selectively supplying fluid under pressure to the tube toautomatically vary discharge of the whipped cream from the dischargeopening, and a rigid annular ring outwardly of the annular tube butadjacent thereto for supporting the tube when inflated.
 4. A disposablehose and forcing bag for dispensing an aerated food product, such aswhipped cream, to a succession of units of pastry, cakes, confections,and the like, and for use with feed means for providing a flow of thematerial along the hose to the forcing bag; characterized in that thehose and forcing bag are formed integrally with one another of hygienicplastic material; the hose having a wall thickness which allows the hoseto be flexible; the hose having an outlet end merging smoothly into thebag so that the interior surface is smooth; the forcing bag being formedfrom two overlapping sheets of hygienic theRmoplastic material which areheat sealed together along two longitudinally-extending, diametricallyopposed seams; the forcing bag having a bulbous shape with a smoothinterior substantially free of folds and wrinkles; the forcing baghaving a reduced inlet where the hose is integrally connected and areduced outlet opposite the inlet; the forcing bag having a wallthickness which allows the bag to be compressed and partially collapsedto temporarily reduce its capacity and dispense through the outlet; theforcing bag having two oppositely facing, outwardly-extending, divergentears at the outlet, one at each seam; a nozzle fitted inside the forcingbag at the outlet; the ears being folded over around the outside of thenozzle to form a reduced retension surface therefor; and fastening meansoutwardly of the forcing bag for holding the ears in folded position andretaining the nozzle in position.
 5. The combination of claim 4 whereinthe forcing bag has a cylindrical throat immediately adjacent thedivergent ears.